Suggestions needed from Southern Cali Peeps...

Well, the time has come to blow all my mod fund on a family vacation again. Legoland to Disneyland to Agoura Hills where we'll be visiting my wife's cousin over a weeks timeframe. I really like to see if I can squeeze driving up the CPH somewhere along the way. I'm open to suggestions on various places I could stop by to either eat or see along the way. I won't have too much time and also have my family with me so no titty bar suggestions please, although I could squeeze in a Twin Peaks stop but then again, rival biker gangs to look out for. BTW, I heard one of the cars and coffee events got shut down recently. Anything else like it around Agoura Hills? TIA

We do have a Coffee & Cars with Pelican event that happens in Palos Verdes, but it wont be happening until July and might be a bit of a trek for you. -Luccia

PCH? You blew my mind there for a second while I fumbled with the letters. Universal Studios is fun, and not as "Just for the kids" as, say, Legoland. Take your kids to The Harbor House in Seal Beach - it's a quintessential CA diner/greasy spoon, and it's about 100 steps off of some AWESOME beach. Feed the fam and spend a late morning on the beach. Or you could drive a couple of miles south and check out Main Street Huntington Beach - "surf city USA." HB is the most condensed form of Southern California there is. Until you've hung out in HB, you can't possibly understand SoCal. If you want to see some awesome automotive hardware, drive south on PCH from HB to Laguna Beach on Saturday or Sunday between 9AM and noon. You'll see Ferraris, Lamborghinis, more Bentleys than you can shake a stick at, and pretty much anything else you can imagine. That 10 mile stretch of road is where everyone goes to show off their automotive hardware. If the kids are older (young teen and up), Laguna is an AWESOME place to spend a day walking around, eating, checking out the tidepools, and watching humanity walk by. There's a boutique hotel owned by Best Western (oddly enough) called the Laguna Brisas which is both awesome and not especially expensive, and it's a perfect base of operations for walking around and seeing what Laguna has to offer. Balboa Island - which is in Newport beach, right between Laguna and HB - has an area called Fun Zone, with rides (ferris wheel, bumper cars, etc.), as well as tons of shops, restaurants, arcades for the kids. It's where we used to spend weekend nights in highschool before they passed the "no cruising" laws, but every evening during summer it's full of things to do and people to see. I love San Diego and have lived down here for 20+ years, but nothing can beat the OC beach cities if you're trying to find the "real" SoCal. If you're looking for an awesome car show, google Supercar Sunday. It's in Woodland Hills (i.e. kinda nowhere), but the cars...the cars.

In'N'Out 3x a day. You're set for food. If you somehow find the time to take in the Petersen Museum in LA, it's excellent. Also from Agoura take Kanan Dume road out to the beach. Great driving road. Kids might as well see and feel what real water feels like - that is if the beaches are open after the recent Santa Barbara oil spill.

Quotes source post: 12319881

...or you could go find a taco shop like a REAL Californian.

I'd suggest driving southwards on PCH, rather than northwards. Much more scenic. Lots of art boutiques and restaurants in Laguna Beach. Go over to Balboa Island. http://www.balboaisland.com/

Quotes source post: 12319885

Yeah but he's from Chicago. His innards might be a little "sensitive", if you know what I mean. :-)

Super car Sunday is still active. It's every Sunday from 7Am to 10 Am in Woodland hills. At least 30 to 40 Pcars of every generation on Sunday . Topanga and Erwin. From there, a drive over to PCH and lunch at Paradise Cove gives you a fun drive and good food. What more could you ask Alan

Quotes source post: 12319924

True. I've experienced the misfortune of Chicago's "Mexican" food.

Quotes source post: 12319998

+1 on Super Car Sunday, and about 15 minutes from Agoura. 1st Sunday of the month, the turnout is huge.

+1 on super car sunday then a drive down kanan drive down to the beach. Paradise cove has one of the best fish tacos and clam chowder. Then if you want to take the wife out shoot down to malibu which is not far from augora hills and dine and have some drinks at moonshadows.

Thanks guys for the various suggestions. I've been to In and Out before but prefer local non chain cuisine. Kids are all 6 and under. We're definitely hitting the beach at least one or two days. Super car Sunday seems realistic to go to. There's abundance of Mexican around here but I do like fish tacos and all the other interesting food creations out of Cali. Thanks for the Southern PCH suggestion too. What areas of PCH would be the best drive that's relatively close in approximation to Legoland?

Legoland is near Carlsbad. From there, take the 5 north for about 20 miles to Dana Point, and then get on 1 north (pch) and drive as far as you like. Laguna is only about 20 miles north of Dana Point, and it's an awesome drive. North of Laguna is Newport, where you'll find the exotic car dealerships and the old dudes with hot teenage wives driving their $200,000 cars.

Bonus: that stretch of the 5 between Carlsbad and Dana Point is the California autobahn. Speeds average - no lie - 90-100 if it's the right time of day and the pussies and Priuses stay out of the left lanes.

Thanks 5CHN3LL

Wahoo fish tacos, surf city.

You bet. I've lived Ina bunch of states...CA is my favorite, and HB or Laguna is where I'll wind up if I accumulate enough dough. Great places,great people.

If you are doing fish tacos in SoCal at a chain, you do Rubios, not Wahoos. Sacralige. And the stretch of I5 between Gnarlsbad and Dana Point is the CA Autobahn. Carlsbad does a cars and coffee at Carlsbad village, right off the freeway, most Saturday's from 7-10.

Alpi, kids 6 and under --> Legoland, hands down. (Mine are 5 & 3). Peterson Museum is closed for renovation till later this year. If you go to Paradise Cove, try the lobster tacos - BOMB! (BTW, this is one of the only beaches that you can take your own booze. Grab a cooler with some beer or champagne. Whatever floats your boat.) I'm also a fan of the OC beaches vs. Santa Barbara, Ventura, Oxnard because the northern beaches are generally too cold and nobody tells you about the damn tar all over the sand. You end up cleaning under your feet for a half hour. Laguna Beach is excellent. 5CHN3LL's suggestion of Balboa island and the fun zone is also great.

Going north on the 101 from where you are staying for about 30 minutes is the Mullen Automotive Museum in Oxnard. One of the best Bugatti collections in the world...and not an arm and a leg to get in. Get there about 10 in the morning (info available on line) and see some amazing machines. Then jump on the 101 and continue north to just pass Ventura and take State Highway 33 east to Ojai...a lovely little town to walk around and have lunch (maybe a light one if you can handle an early dinner with great sea food). Then after lunch go back to the 101 and drive south...and take the California 1 highway south along the coast towards Santa Monica. Along the way will be plenty of places to stop at the beach. You will pass through Malibu which you may or may not care about but a walk on the pier is nice. Back in the car, when you get to just before Topanga Canyon there is great sea food at the Reel Inn. Casual...great for kids. Very good fish...lobster...everything. Continue through Topanga Canyon to get back to the 101 and return to where you are staying. Overall a nice day trip.

Quotes source post: 12320724

hehe Gnarlsbad

Once you start venturing north of LA - Santa Monica, Santa Barbara, you're in old people territory. You may find that if you stay overnight, you'll wake up arthritic. Best not risk it...unless you have to show up for a conjugal visit in Lompoc. Not much you can do about it in that case.

Thanks guys again. I will consider all your suggestions. Leaving tomorrow and the plan is to do the PCH first as we head from LAX to Legoland. I dunno if we're gonna have any time once we do Legoland and Disneyland until we get to my wife's cousin's place at Agoura Hills. BTW, I think I was thinking of this when I referred it as CPH accidentally...

Nice photo of Officer Poncherello.

The next Supercar Sunday is June 7th in Woodland Hills. The marque is McLaren and it should be a gathering of awesome cars as usual Try and get there before 8:30 because the lot really fills up It doesn't get any better than SoCal during the summer

The June 7th SCS is McLaren , but they've made a slight change. It's now McLaren and British cars. I'll be there in my white Esprit. Alan

I'll try to see if I can make it.

Quotes source post: 12325465

If you haven't been out here before, realize that PCH near LAX is a dump, and you'll go through some crappy areas. The scenery gets good once you get to Orange County. In Newport Beach, there are a ton of used car dealers with lots of Porsches on the lot. I'm just a few miles from LegoLand.

Nice stretches of PCH IMHO are North of Santa Monica and South of Seal Beach I believe down to Dana Point. Not to familiar with San Diego PCH. In LA county, all else in between is a dump as Cuda said with a few pockets of nice (e.g. Manhattan, Hermosa, Marina Del Rey area but still PCH is further inland in those parts)

Skip legoland, I haven't heard anything good about it. If you're going to be around this weekend, HRE event on Saturday is a must go to event.

Legoland is great for kids 8 and under. Expensive, though. I had annual passes when my kids were little, went there many times. The HRE event is fantastic for adults.

Update: Drove on PCH from LAX to where it turns into I5. Quite varied environments as some of you mentioned. Hit up all the beaches along the way. Stopped at Newport Beach at Bear Flag to grab a quick bite since it was right on the highway. Main reason of coming here was specifically for my kids to enjoy Lego and Disneyland. Yes, the hotel part can be expensive so we saved by coming early before most schools get out. Legoland was great so far. Tues/Wed is the slowest days and there were no lines at any of the rides/attractions. Heading up to Disneyland in the late afternoon. Cars spotted so far: 996 C4S Seal Grey w/rims/lowered/exhaust in Huntington Beach 356 silver 911 2.7 996.2 cab blk/blk mesh rims Yellow Gallardo Vert Masarati Gran Turismo 997 Gt3RS BMW Z4 modded Flat Blk Gallardo Corvette c6 ZR1 Genuine Austin Mini

Make a swing by Beverly Hills and grab a drink out front of the Beverly Wilshire, there are a ton of nice cars that drive by. Also, check out the cars in their driveway. This was last time I stayed there: 6C173E0C-1639-4724-8EDB-7CA674FA4B5C_zpsqrdjrsn3.jpg CCAD2C2F-D0F6-4EA7-8762-A614CFF0F52E_zpsrcnfh2bf.jpg AE41BCBF-3C6E-45F8-8589-17ACE415674B_zpsl3qv1ini.jpg There are a ton of hybrids in socal CCA68045-EE9E-4E14-8175-06BEDA530F6E_zpslmifvkhh.jpg

Quotes source post: 12334135

That's Beverly Whilshire. A lot of rich folks stay there. I saw the Pagani Zonda of an Arabic prince that was staying there a couple years ago.

lots and lots of great back roads in the San Diego area for fun in your P car +1 on Legoland for younger kids. Much more fun than Disneyland. Where else can a 6 y/o actually drive a car on a closed course complete with traffic lights and stop signs? Its a hoot watching these kids actually obey traffic laws!